Rocky Mountain Tracking

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Does GPS Influence Insurance Claims on Electronics?

June 4th, 2012

If you own a smart phone, ninety nine times out of a hundred there’s a GPS installed. If you own a tablet, it’s also very likely that the device features GPS functionality. The new numbers are in regarding insurance claims. Analysts and insurance companies are poring over them, looking at how those numbers will affect the cost of insuring those items. One of the most interesting statistics is that jewelry has overtaken electronics as the number one most “claimed” insurance item. Does GPS tracking affect insurance claims on electronics?

The Hard Numbers on Insurance Claims
Every year, Enservio releases its Contents Claims Index, the industry’s last word when it comes to Contents Claims Index, the industry’s last word when it comes to where insurance companies’ money goes and why. Two interesting metrics are of interest: jewelry claims are up roughly four percent, while electronics claims dropped two percent. However, claims to insurance companies regarding electronics still increased 15%–it’s just that jewelry claims increased more.

GPS Devices Integrated into Smart Phones and Tablets
One factor that may affect insurance claims regarding electronics is the growing number of devices with integrated GPS. Granted, tablets and smart phones account for a potentially marginal segment of electronic devices that are insured. The majority of those insurance claims come in regards to televisions, laptops, and other bigger ticket items. However, a simple scan of this blog will reveal that GPS devices installed in smart phones, iPads etc. have led police to thieves on numerous occasions, saving insurance companies tons of cold hard cash.

GPS Tracking and Electronic Theft
What does the future hold for grand larceny? Put simply, installing GPS devices on electronics will curb theft. It’s just a matter of cost: would it be cost effective to put a GPS on a flatscreen television, for example, simply to track the device in the event that it is stolen? Would that provide enough added benefit that it would justify increased manufacturing expense? GPS tracking would certainly be a benefit to insurance companies, and to law enforcement officers who might turn voluntary GPS tracking data into a firm legal conviction. The application of GPS technology as a theft deterrent certainly might be an interesting approach at curbing larceny in the United States.

GPS Distance Measuring Makes Insurance Discounts More Accurate

May 13th, 2012

If you own a house in North Carolina, the cost of your homeowners’ insurance premium is affected by the proximity and quality of the nearest fire station. Houses within six driving miles of a station receive a discount on their insurance, and that discount increases if the station is particularly well equipped and staffed. In the past, insurance companies relied on brokers to provide information about each structure’s distance from the closest fire station, but they are now turning to GPS distance measuring to get more accurate information.

North Carolina’s insurance providers use a scale from 1 (best) to 10 (worst) to rate a fire department. The rating takes into account the training of a station’s firefighters, the quality of its equipment, and response time. Substations within a department’s district can increase its rating. If a house is located within a department with a great rating, its insurance costs are lower. However, most rural areas are rated around 9 and see only very small discounts. If a house is outside the limits of any fire department, a discount is not available.

Accurately measuring the driving distance from a house to a fire station has always been a very tedious process, but GPS distance measuring allows insurance companies to accomplish the task with convenience. Given the novelty of GPS in general, the new approach does occasionally need some adjustment. GPS distance measuring sometimes gives an incorrect reading, and the old-fashioned method of actually driving the route must correct it.

Existing policies are seeing a lot of changes, as insurance companies review their fire station information with the new GPS approach. Some policies are seeing discounts added, since they actually are within a department’s area. In other cases, a broker may have been a little optimistic when reporting the distance from the fire station for the original policy. Those policyholders would see their premiums rise as they lose their discounts.

Add insurance companies to the long list of industries that have made GPS a permanent part of the way they do business. It seems that each day brings a new story of how this technology makes someone’s job easier. And if your policy is reviewed and corrected, hopefully it will result in a bigger discount for you and not the other way around!

Unique Tracking Program Gives Insurance Discounts

November 13th, 2011

GPS tracking devices might soon be lowering your car insurance premiums. A unique new program gives a “pay-as-you-drive” spin on insurance. This new program involves a GPS tracking device being installed on the vehicle. The tracking device enables the insurance company to monitor the vehicle’s every move, giving them a pretty clear picture of the individual’s driving habits. This information can then be used by the insurance provider to determine a fair insurance premium.
Good or Bad?
Many people are uncomfortable with their insurance company have such detailed information about their driving habits and travels, viewing it as an invasion of privacy.
But New Jersey software programmer Saman Javasekara embraced this new program. After installing the GPS tracking device on his vehicle, he received a 23% discount from Progressive. Like Javasekara, many people who put aside their concerns will find themselves very pleased with the discount that they receive.
How It Works
This tracking program gathers pieces of information that are particularly important to insurance companies, such as how often the vehicle is driven, the distance the vehicle is driven, and how often the driver stops suddenly. Drivers who know that their moves are being monitored will keep focused on their driving. This new tracking program encourages less frequent driving in addition to safer driving. If programs like this become popular, people will be more likely to carpool and to walk or ride a bike to close locations, which would cut down on congestion and pollution.
This tracking system uses the car’s computerized diagnostic port, so it cannot be used in cars that were made before 1996.
Although the technology is still relatively new, using a GPS tracking device in a vehicle is not a completely new concept. State Farm uses GPS tracking devices in the vehicles that they insure, but they only use the trackers for roadside assistance. They do not use the devices in any way to calculate insurance rates.

Article Written by Janice Grover

Government: GPS Vehicle Tracking May Soon Be Mandatory

August 19th, 2011

You’ve probably seen insurance advertisements that claim you can lower your monthly rate by installing a GPS tracker. Lowering your insurance rate is always a good thing, but at what cost? USA Today recently reported that some insurance companies may be selling this information to the U.S. Government. Further, according to the article, the government is considering making vehicle tracking mandatory for all U.S. drivers. Why would the government be interested in your driving habits? The answer is two-fold.

First, tracking your driving habits means that sending out violation tickets will become even easier for law enforcement.Second, this evidence can be used for — or against — you if an accident occurs.

Sure, the GPS tracking data that your insurer collects will be used to lower your rates (if you can play by the stringent rate lowering rules), but it is also used by police and government officials. Right now, you have the option to skip the installation of a tracker and go on paying regular insurance rates. But, this may not be a choice in the near future.

Presently, the U.S. Government requires that all long-haul vehicles be equipped with tracking devices. Soon, the government may require all regular vehicles to include tracking technology too.

If you’re tempted by offers of low insurance rates, read the fine print, and make sure that this data will not be used in any other manner. If you hardly ever get slapped with traffic tickets or find yourself in an accident, it may be best to skip those tempting insurance offers for the time being. Only time will tell if vehicle tracking will be mandatory a year or so from now.

Article Written by Harriette Halepis

GPS Tracking and Lower Insurance Rates: Friend or Fraud?

August 4th, 2011

You may have heard that having a GPS tracking device in your car can help lower your insurance rates, but it is not as simple as just having the location system in place. Since GPS units can track speeding, hard braking, heavy accelerating, and driving frequency, insurance companies can determine exactly how safe they think you are when it comes to driving and then set your rates accordingly.

For example, if you live in a suburban neighborhood but work in the heart of the city, your time spent in rush-hour traffic could be a deterring factor in the eyes of the insurance company because they equate less time in the car with safety. However, if you are a responsible teen trying to overcome the stereotype of a teenage driver in order to lower your insurance rate, then a GPS tracking system can help the insurer see your level of commitment to safe driving.

One unquestionable advantage to using GPS tracking in your vehicle for both you and your insurance company is the deterrent it is to car thieves. An insurance agent is more likely to give you a lower rate on your car if they know they can more easily retrieve a stolen vehicle rather than replace one, especially if you live in a highly populated area where statistics for stolen cars are elevated.

If you are a business with a fleet of vehicles, then GPS tracking can definitely help lower your insurance rates. Whether you are a utilities company, delivery service, or contractor, if you own multiple vehicles, you should consider installing a GPS tracking device on each vehicle. Not only does it encourage your drivers to practice safe driving habits, but it also shows the insurance company that you are serious about taking care of your business assets. Again, such location devices also act as a deterrent to potential car thieves and give the insurance companies peace of mind knowing they can track down a stolen company vehicle.

How much GPS tracking can help lower your insurance rates really lies in the hands of the insurance company. It is theirs to determine the perimeters of safety, and it is theirs to determine the ratio of adjustment. However, it is yours to drive safely and to use your GPS tracking as you deem best, be it for personal information or for information that the insurance company can use for or against you.

Article Written by Hillary Mayfield

State Farm Offers to Help New Drivers

June 1st, 2011

When teaching me how to drive as a teenager, I remember my father leaning over next to me and saying, “it is not you I’m worried about. It’s those people.” You know the ones. Drivers who careen through a red light while it’s barely pink, take the on ramp going 70, or pass through four lanes of dense highway traffic without a turn signal. For drivers all over the country, the newest iPhone app, which rates the driving of its owner using GPS tracking, motivates feelings of relief and hope for a safer driving tomorrow.

Sponsored by State Farm Insurance, the Driver Feedback application uses the accelerometer in the iPhone as well as a GPS locator system to determine a driver’s affinity for risky driving maneuvers such as hard acceleration or deceleration and abrupt swerves. Judging from these three areas during a given road trip, an overall rating is provided to the driver. By analyzing the results provided from trip to trip the driver can then evaluate his progress on the road. If he consistently receives a dismal score, he should take the hint that he needs to work on his driving skills.

While the latest GPS tracking application certainly has its effectiveness, this seemingly innocent novelty has met with a mild degree of resistance. After all, isn’t cell phone use marking the top of the charts for driver distraction? However well-meaning, drivers who choose to use the Driver Feedback application while driving are making matters worse by removing their attention from the road. It is thus highly recommended that iPhone users avoid checking their progress during the course of their road trips. Instead, exercise patience and wait until you come to a stop before peaking at the results.

Reckless driving is among the top causes of car accidents in America. With 2 million accidents and more than 13,000 deaths annually caused by drivers who care more for a thrill than for the safety of others, it’s about time that someone did something. While the Driver Feedback app cannot prevent drivers from recklessness on the road, it can at least alert them to their poor driving habits. Perhaps it will motivate them to remedy their selfish ways. Even if only a few lives are saved by this GPS tracking-based application, it will be well worth the effort.

Article Written by Janice Grover

Use GPS Tracking to Lower Insurance Premiums?

March 23rd, 2011

Are you a safe driver? Do you think you’re paying higher for insurance than you should? For drivers who believe they are overpaying and would like to be able to prove that they are safer drivers, Progressive Auto Insurance is beginning a program that will allow drivers to install a GPS tracking device in their cars.

The GPS tracking device will track how hard they brake as well as what percentage of their driving is day driving compared to what percentage is nighttime driving, according to USA today.

Drivers who opt into the program, called Snapshot, can save, on average, $150.00 per year.

The programs are entirely voluntary, but have still, as most GPS tracking programs tend to do, have caught flak as being an Orwellian program. The primary concern of critics is that the insurance agencies will make the tracking devices mandatory.

In addition, while Progressive and other insurance agencies with similar programs claim that they will only use the devices to give discounts as opposed to punitive penalties, some, such as Robert E. Smith of Privacy Journal, fear that the rules could change.

Progressive believes this is a massive benefit for drivers. “Snapshot provides the first tangible way for you to tell the insurance company ‘This is who I am’ as a driver.”

What do you think? Privacy nightmare, or good way to reduce your insurance premiums?

Article Written by Greg Minton

GPS Saves Money on Car Insurance

January 28th, 2011

Saving money is a big concern these days. While people are clipping coupons and shopping at garage sales, they may be neglecting a much more substantial savings. An investment in GPS tracking can pay off in insurance savings for the consumer (whether an individual or a company). Insurance companies give discounts for such things as low mileage, anti-theft devices, teenage tracking and safe driving.

Some insurance companies offer discounts for drivers who drive less than a certain number of miles each year. However, many claim this discount only to violate the terms of it. Several large insurance companies now offer a low mileage discount to those drivers who will agree to use GPS to record their odometer readings.

For truly low mileage drivers, the discount can be substantial: even up to 26% of the annual premium rate. The insurance company earns savings by eliminating credits for those who don’t actually qualify for the discounts, and those savings are passed on to drivers who do.

Another way that consumers can save with GPS tracking is to claim the anti-theft discount many insurers offer. This is commonly used with commercial fleets and also by rental car companies. The devices can be programmed to alert the company if the car goes beyond prescribed boundaries.

GPS tracking can qualify companies for safe driver fleet discounts by monitoring driver behaviors such as hard braking, speed and turns and weaves. Drivers who are aware they are being watched will usually drive more cautiously and carefully. Teen drivers aren’t exactly fleet vehicles, but sometimes they also need to be tracked and it can pay off in savings to parents in reduced insurance premiums. The GPS unit can alert the parents when the young person violates conditions such as not arriving at school, being a certain distance from home or exceeding a certain speed limit.

Vehicle owners can find further savings with GPS-equipped cars, which can save money by suggesting the shortest route and helping drivers avoid getting lost. They can be alerted to traffic jams and unsafe conditions. Fewer stops and starts and less miles translates into money saved especially with today’s high fuel prices.

GPS technology is a timely investment that will pay for itself in reduced insurance premiums, not to mention reduced fuel costs and peace of mind for parents who are tracking teens. More and more insurance companies will harness this technology in the future to reduce their costs which then can be passed on to you, the consumer.

Article Written by Greg Bartlett

Car Insurance Companies Offering Discounts for Tracking Privileges

April 20th, 2010

By DONNA SANTI / guest columnist

Would you consent to a vehicle tracking system that is monitored by your insurance company, if it would lower your rates?

Hundreds of thousands of clients currently signed up for AAA and Progressive auto insurance might soon have the choice. The two companies are among the first to launch unique on-board driving data collection programs. Little boxes, about the size of a box of stick matches, plug into the vehicle’s electrical and diagnostic centers and they record vehicle speed, time of day, brakes applications and the number of miles logged. Representatives think the program will create safer drivers and therefore lower premiums.

GPS Tracking & Insurance Premiums

Drivers will be able to access their data on the insurance website by logging in with a personalized code.

Customers can save 10 percent on their insurance just for using the devices; more if their statistics are better by comparison with other drivers under similar circumstances and conditions. For instance, the insurance rate drops if the vehicle is driven fewer than 12,000 miles a year; the national average.

However, there is a bit of controversy dissuading some drivers, and it deals with privacy. The boxes, at programmed intervals, send the data wirelessly to the insurance company’s headquarters. In essence, the driver’s habits can be monitored daily – perhaps hourly – and scrutinized by specialists who attempt to translate real-world happenings into dollars and decimal points.

AAA debuts its vehicle tracking program, called uDrive, this month in the state of Nevada, through a series of open houses. Progressive’s program is called MyRate and it is active already with 100,000 customers in 19 states.

The boxes are not GPS tracking devices, which means the insurance companies do not know, and keep no record, of where the individual clients are traveling. That fact is good, or bad, depending on where someone stands on the issue of personal freedom, versus safety and cost savings.

Some people don’t like private enterprise, or the government, from interfering in or observing what is their personal business, such as by vehicle tracking. As long as an individual is not doing something illegal or potentially harmful to others, they don’t want a computer chip recording where they go, (by logging their GPS tracking coordinates), how long they stay, and then by making a few assumptions, determine what they are doing there.

“How do we know what other kinds of data those little boxes are gathering and who else has access to it,” reacted one insurance client approached about the project. “Who is to prevent lawmakers two years down the line from making this kind of vehicle tracking mandatory? Ten percent savings is not worth it. It’s about control.”

On the other side of the issue are those people that firmly believe “knowledge is power.” The more data GPS tracking and other mobile electronic gadgets can gather; the better understanding we have of human and mechanical tendencies. We can change the wrong to good; fix inefficiencies, improve safety, save lives and save money.

“This is really where the future of auto insurance seems to be headed,” commented a AAA representative operating in Nevada.

The auto insurance companies noted here are not yet offering tracking systems with GPS location service, although they have been proven to promote safe driving habits. Business people, law enforcement, concerned parents and other consumers rely on GPS tracking to tell them what the driver of their vehicle won’t or can’t. Countless fleet management supervisors use GPS tracking systems to monitor their company vehicles and the employees who are entrusted with their care.

A passive GPS tracking system, also known as a GPS data logger, gathers much more data than a small box transmitter. Most significant is that they will record everywhere the vehicle has traveled. This type of information would be invaluable to auto insurance companies because they would then be able to break down their data and examine trends by region.

Many insurance companies today offer discounts to drivers who have purchased and installed their own vehicle tracking systems, because they know they help people drive more safely. Real-time GPS tracking systems help vehicle owners or police authorities recover vehicles that have been stolen. That equates to lower liability and lower insurance rates.

Certainly, insurance companies would love to have access to the data collected by clients’ GPS tracking devices. Would drivers comply if the enticement is a significant insurance discount? Or would it be going too far in surrendering our privacy?

- Donna Santi is a creative writer for LandAirSea Systems, a Woodstock, IL-based manufacturer and distributor of expertly-engineered GPS tracking systems, software and accessories. For information about LandAirSea, visit www.landairsea.com. To contact the writer, email donna.santi@landairsea.com

GPS Tracking and Insurance

February 10th, 2010

By Greg Bartlett

Most people who buy GPS trackers for their property and assets will often consider the cost a bit of personal insurance. The technology can certainly help protect or recover items in case of loss or theft. Investment in a GPS tracker can seem small in comparison to the cost of losing a vehicle or other valuable property. Yet what if purchasing and installing GPS tracking technology could also save you money on your monthly insurance premiums?

GPS Tracking & Insurance

Fact is, it can. Insurance companies recognize GPS trackers as simple yet effective way of safeguarding all sorts of property, so they’re willing to make it worth your while to give them a little more peace of mind. To them, it’s all about statistics, and GPS trackers will lower the odds of costly property loss.

The benefits among auto insurance providers may vary. Liberty Mutual is one of the biggest discounters, offering up to 25% off regular comprehensive monthly premiums to GPS users. Other insurance companies like AAA, Progressive, and Geico offer up to 18%, 15%, and 10% off respectively. Some companies have different discounts or requirements in different states, so call your agent and ask what benefits apply to your situation. If you’re a company managing an entire fleet of vehicles, GPS tracking will certainly net you a higher gain than an individual vehicle policy. If you’re a parent stressing over your newly licensed teen, there’s likely some discounts to be had there, as well. A few years ago, AIG began a program offering a particularly high discount to teen drivers who were willing to be tracked by their parents. Again, be sure to check out these discounts if you’re not already familiar with them. Don’t doubt that there’s one out there for you-about a dozen states (note: pdf link) have passed laws requiring insurance companies to offer incentives to drivers who purchase anti-theft devices like GPS trackers.

GPS trackers can also save you money indirectly. Most insurance companies have low mileage discounts for infrequent drivers, so a data sheet generated by your car’s GPS tracker can be a quick and simple way to show how much you’ve travelled during any relevant period of time. On a similar note, if you itemize your tax deductions, a GPS tracker is a great way to prove your low mileage at the end of every year to the IRS.

Even without the benefit of lower monthly premiums, GPS trackers pay for themselves by providing security and peace of mind. And if they can save you a few extra bucks as well, what’s keeping you from picking one up?